City Beekeeping, is it possible?

The fact that many people live in urban areas can be at the core of the question.  So lets look at the possibility of practicing beekeeping in an urban area.  Yes it is possible to be a city beekeeper.  In fact cities can offer some advantages for keeping bees.

Learn about urban beekeeping at the rooftop apiary and garden of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle! Chef Paul Shewchuk shows us his honey beehives and goes over the process of creating and harvesting honey. Hundreds of pounds of honey are made here each year and are used in cocktails and Olympic Hard Cider, made in collaboration with Seattle Cider Co.

In addition to the beehives, the Fairmont’s rooftop has an urban, pesticide-free garden where strawberries, cherry tomatoes, herbs, edible flowers, and several varieties of peppers are grown.

Flat rooftops of city buildings are ideal spaces.  They are warm with plenty of sunshine, and away from most people.  Therefore from a safety point of view these are great spaces.

The best advantage is that the customers, who would like to buy the honey, are very close, maybe even in the same building.  This means a big saving on transportation costs (good for the environment as well).

Cities also often have many houses with small, flower filled gardens, just the ideal space for the bees to forage.  Even the large flowering trees, that are found all through cities, are perfect as bee food.  And with an increasing trend to “green” our cities, more food is becoming available.

Having enough water for the bees

Naturally, bees would construct their hives near a source of water. Consequently, having them in the city should lead the beekeeper to have sufficient hydration source for his/her bees near their hives. Putting in place sources of water can be achieved with water feeders for instance. There are in fact three ways to have a source of water installed mentioned in my beekeeping guide.

There are, however, certain measures that can be taken to try to prevent problems that could arise from your hobby. Effectively, in spite of what could be though, honeybees can go several miles in order to obtain what they are in need of. Thus, not having plenty of flowers around your house should not constitute a barrier. Nevertheless with regards to stings, some steps that can be taken are, having enough water in your backyard, installing a fence and taking some actions to try to ease possible neighborhood apprehension.

The Fence

To prevent your honeybees from flying too low, the use of a fence can be effective. In fact, the height of the fence could lead the bees to fly higher. Consequently, through this action the chances of your bees encountering your neighbors could be decreased. The fence should be at a minimum of 6ft high. Even though there might be some effort in raising a fence, it is interesting how such a measure could have this impact on the behavior of the honey bees. Additionally, a fence should decrease the possibility that a Langstroth hive be seen easily.

About the Neighborhood

Because we generally have neighbors, and also due to the fact that bees are living creatures that can inflict pain, engaging into actions that would help prevent confrontational situations with your neighbor should be taken. A first tip would be to not locate your hive in areas utilized by your neighbors. Moreover, because of the urban environment you might be living in, limiting the hives to a maximum of two could be advantageous. You could also try to protect your hives from the eyes of your neighbors. By making your hobby something hidden from their eyes, your neighbors might be led to think less about it. Moreover, inviting them to see how bees are not necessarily hostile could counter bad opinions. Through the invitation you can also show that you are in control managing your honeybees. Also, one can offer some honey to his/her neighbor. I see this one as a very interesting move because not only can it help in neighborhood relationships, but by doing so, a person is actually sharing a final product of having honeybees.

Once more, responding to the question at the beginning of this article, yes, it is possible to practice beekeeping in a city. However, because it is a different environment than that of the wild, certain actions have to be taken to not only make the life of your bees easier, but also to avoid having problems with your neighbors. These actions are for instance having a source of hydration for your bees close to the hives, and erecting a fence.

Next, if you want to have more information about beekeeping, I invite you to subscribe to my beekeeping email mini course by entering your name and email address in the form on the top right side of this page.